Lest We Forget: The Survival of a Cherokee Woman is a work of historical fiction inspired by real events that shaped one family's legacy and a nation's past.
When soldiers arrive to force her people from their homeland in North Carolina, ten-year-old Lany escapes into the mountains with her family, avoiding the fate that claimed thousands during the forced removals of Native Americans in the nineteenth century. Sheltered by the rugged beauty of the mountains, Lany grows into a woman determined to survive in a world that repeatedly tries to erase her identity.
As government laws tighten and racial boundaries are enforced, Lany's life is upended once again when she marries a white man-an act the authorities declare illegal. Branded a criminal for choosing love, she must fight to protect her freedom, her children, and her right to exist on her own terms.
Though much of Lany's story was never recorded, her strength endures. Her sacrifices echo through generations of descendants who lived unaware of the struggles that made their lives possible.
Blending history, resilience, and remembrance, Lest We Forget gives voice to a woman nearly lost to time and honors the enduring spirit of those who survived against overwhelming odds.
